For Immediate Release

The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and local public health agencies remind Montanans and visitors to the state to be aware of the risk of hantavirus and to take precautions to avoid exposures to rodents, their droppings and nests.

“Although hantavirus infection can occur during any month, the risk of exposure is increased in the spring and summer as people clean cabins and sheds and spend more time outside in the vicinity of rodents,” said DPHHS epidemiologist Rachel Hinnenkamp.

With 43 cases of hantavirus reported since its recognition in 1...